Dateline NBC (sometimes called just Dateline) is a US weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC similar to ABC's 20/20 or CBS's 60 Minutes. The show, which has aired since 1992, is currently hosted by Stone Phillips and Ann Curry. Curry first co-hosted on June 24, 2005. Jane Pauley previously co-hosted. Current correspondents include Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric; Maria Shriver left the job soon after her husband became governor of California.

Unlike the other newsmagazines, Dateline has had more of a focus on human interest stories and stories of interest to women, and less emphasis on investigative journalism. Common features include Dateline: Survivor, where a person talks about their near death experience and rescue; Dateline: Timeline, where a popular product, person, and music single are played and viewers are invited to guess what year it appeared in; State of the Art, explaining how something was technically accomplished in a movie; Consumer Alert, where common consumer complaints or issues, such as food safety, are investigated, and Newsmakers, light interviews of major figures in politics, entertainment, and business, as well as regular people in the news.

Historically, Dateline has often been used to plug holes in the NBC schedule. This was especially true in the mid to late 1990s. Currently, NBC News specials also aire under the Dateline banner. These specials often have more of an investigative focus.

The music was composed by Score Productions.

Notable incidents

On 18 February 1993 Dateline NBC aired an investigative report about General Motors pickup trucks allegedly exploding upon impact during accidents, because fuel tanks were badly designed. Although there were fuel tanks design problems with GM cars before, Dateline's film showed a sample of a staged low speed accident with the fuel tank exploding. Dateline NBC did not disclose the fact that this accident was staged, including planted with explosives. The viewers were never told about it. It appeared to be a major discovery of investigative reporters. GM investigators discovered a hoax by a study of the Dateline film. GM subsequently filed an anti-defamation lawsuit against NBC. Brian Ross and a few persons responsible for the incident were fired from NBC, and Ross found employment with ABC News, where he continues to work to this day.

The lawsuit was quickly settled by NBC.
Show Description Credit:Wikipedia